San Diego, CA

This is a sweet, malty red ale. If you don’t like bitter, you’ll be happy. If you don’t like sweet, you  might not. The caramel malts give it a lot of, um, caramel flavor and aroma. After a while it can get a bit cloying (or almost sour).

Beautiful label!

abv: 5.8%

Taste: B

Where to bring it: to people who say they don’t like bitter beers.

Inyokern, CA

At first we thought it was just because of the pig on the label, or because it’s called “whole hog,” but no. This beer really does smell and taste a lot like bacon. More like smokey bacon bits (as in Bacos). It’s stronger in the aroma, but plenty porky in the actual taste, too. There are much better smoked porters out there.

abv: 5%

Taste: C

Where to bring it: Bacon-tasting parties, or any pork-themed event (perfect companion to Iron Chef Battle Bacon)

Milton, Delaware

The bottle tells you that this stout has a “touch of roasted chicory and organic Mexican coffee.” Both those aromas/flavors are there, along with plenty of nuts and roasted grains and some anise notes. This is a very drinkable stout. Don’t be scared off by the “flavoring.” Some sips can get a little bitter or oily for some palates.

abv: 5.2%

Taste: B+

Where to bring it: game night

Norway

This Norwegian spiced ale made its U.S. debut in 2008, but I still haven’t seen much about it on the big beer rating sites. Found this lovely 1 pt. 9 oz bottle at Whole Foods, and it is so worth tasting. Peculiarly delicious, but we’re kinda suckers for these spiced Christmas ales, and, it seems, especially the Scandinavian ones.

This one says it’s based on a Norwegian drink called glogg, a heated mulled wine. That might explain its enormous bouquet of clove and cinammon, among other spices (coriander, cardamom and ginger, all in ample, detectable amounts).

It pours dark brown and it begs to be savored with dessert. An almond torte? Pecan pie? Works equally well as a subsitute for dessert (only 30 IBU).

abv: 6.5%

Taste: A

Where to bring it: Holiday parties, holiday dinners.

Spiced Christmas Ale

Copenhagen, Denmark

Yep – I spelled that right. Happy Hanukkah to me, from Laura. Here is a Danish Christmas Ale, the best way to celebrate Hanukkah.

In a mmm mmm beautiful  1 pint bottle (from Whole Foods), it pours deep ruby brown, with tons of foamy head (rough trip from Denmark?), which pretty quickly settled down. The aroma might be the most exciting part: gingerbread, raisins, cloves, cinnamon, and all kinds of Christmas spices. One of the nicest things about this beer is that it has all those fun flavors and spices, but neither the aroma nor the taste has a strong alcohol flavor. It actually drinks pretty light, given what it is. Not saying it’s a session beer, but a session probably isn’t completely out of the question.

Nice carbonation in a smooth mouthfeel, bready and sweet in the aftertaste. Great winter warmer from the land that invented winter. I really want to go to northern Europe.

ABV: 7%

Taste: A-

Where to bring it: Christmas and Hanukkah parties, duh.

Wow. This beer kinda defies categorization (they call it an Imperial Mild). It has the strength of a barleywine (9.7% abv), the hoppiness of a double IPA, and the body of Scotch red ale. Floral hops, burnt nuts. It’s kind of perfect. We wish it were around all year.

ABV: 9.7%

Taste: A

Where to bring it: Anywhere you can walk home from. This includes your couch, of course.

(same as Maredsous 8?)

Abbey style dubbel: that could be your new favorite kind of beer if you’re not sure what is your favorite kind of beer.

This is a great example and not too hard to find. You might see the stubby little bottles of Maredsous 8. Get them and sip them. The dubbel is a dark brown, malty, cherry-ish, toffee-ish ale with delicious sweetness and a great alcohol bite. Drink it from a gold-rimmed chalice. Enjoy the fluffy head. Enjoy the molasses and raisins in the back of your throat. Roll it around on your tongue and taste the brown sugar.

ABV: 8%

Taste: A

Where to bring it: Special Places; Fireplaces

This is a great tripel, whether you have tasted plenty or none. It looks like golden hay. It smells like vanilla citrus oat cakes.

They say it’s called Tripel because it’s an effort to recreate a very old recipe involving three grains (oats, wheat, barley…though most tripels are called that because they triple the amount of malts used).

At 8%, this is still a very very easy beer to drink a lot of. There is some sweetness, and the carbonation is mild (it almost has the consistency of apple juice). That vanilla we mentioned in the smell? You can taste that too. It’s delicious.

8% abv
Taste: A-
Where to bring it: Anywhere classy. Especially if you bring the 750 mL green bottle with picture of monks bundling straw.

Austria

Holy crap!

They call this the “strongest beer in the world” – or at least the strongest lager. This bottle says its 14%. You can definitely taste the alcohol, but don’t let it scare you.

Samichlaus means “Santa Claus,” and that’s a good place to start in describing it. Not that it tastes like a fat guy – no – it tastes like somebody just poured 12 days’ worth of presents into your mouth. There is a lot going on – in the nose when you smell it, on your tongue while its there, and in your mouth once you swallow. People compare this beer more to a cognac or brandy or fortified wine (and it does go amazingly with dark chocolate). In fact, it calls itself “malt liquor” on the bottle.

There is a strong candied fruit flavor. It’s like nothing else. Very hard to find, so if you see it, grab it.

14& abv

Taste: A

Where to bring it: somewhere special.

American Strong Ale

Ukiah, CA

This is a all-star beer. It will go great with pretty much any food. It’s got a copper-amber color, a little cloudy (it’s bottle fermented), and it pours with a thick, delicious head. It packs a ton of flavor into each sip, and it’s pretty complex. They mix pale and caramel malts to make it, so it’s got the hoppy bite of a pale ale or an IPA but with just enough malty sweetness to mask that 8% abv – be careful,  or you might end up having six without realizing it.

You could name a lot of flavors when tasting this one, so it’s a good one to practice on (can’t go wrong). For example, after the last sip I just took, I tasted orange and cookies.

Mendocino makes great beers, the kind you always want to have on hand – like Red Tail – but this one packs more punch.

8% abv

Taste: A

Where to bring it: any party, picnic, BBQ. And bring it home.